Little Lion Man
by mirrorOfsin
Summary: Jaime was golden, the strong cub worthy to take his father's place when the time came. That was all anybody told ever him. Young Jaime. Some Jaime/Cersei, features Tyrion and Tywin.


This was written for the asoiaf_exchange on LJ - recipient stoopid_silly

**Title:** Little Lion Man

**Summary:** Jaime was golden, the strong cub worthy to take his father's place when the time came. That was all anybody told ever him.

**Warning:** mentions incest between Jaime and Cersei. Nothing explicit.

Little Lion Man

The young cub crouched amongst the tall wild grass and thick bushes waiting for the other to show himself. They liked to play chase games and fight – even if the younger was weaker and slower. He heard a rustle and thud and grinned, still keeping low. He knew his brother well enough to know that this could be a trick to lure him out. The wind rustled the leaves and grass before picking and playing with his golden mane. Then silence descended except for the far distant cry of a raven. There, from the corner of his eye, he saw his brother peek a look and that was all he needed. He leapt up and pounced with a battle roar catching his brother easily and the two of them rolled around in the grass wrestling and laughing until they tired and fell back breathlessly. They had been doing this all day having snuck away early in the morning before either of them could be cornered. They stole some food from the kitchens knowing that, by the time they returned home, they would be in so much trouble they wouldn't be allowed to eat. But it was worth it in the end.

Jaime enjoyed the odd times he spent with his brother, scaling the rocks that their home towered over the ferocious sea below or running and play fighting in the woods like wildlings. These were things he used to do with Cersei but now she was mostly locked away, like a princess from the fairy tales, made to sew and sing and dance. Cersei hated Jaime's freedom but there was nothing she could do about it.

Jaime glanced at his brother thoughtfully as they lay there watching the sky have the edges of the blue turn to dusky pinks and purples. Jaime was golden, the strong cub worthy to take his father's place when the time came. That was all anybody told ever him. When he trained it was to be the best knight there could ever be in the whole of Westeros and beyond. He would rule Casterly Rock better than his father and any of the Lannisters before. That was his destiny after all.

His brother, on the other hand, was almost completely forgotten about. Jaime was polished gold, bright and gleaming and Tyrion was the gold that was still rugged from the earth. That irked his father and sister but Jaime didn't mind. He acknowledged that his brother was far more intellectual than he was – not that Jaime had the time or interest to spend time reading from old tomes and scrolls about the bygone days. He lived for the present, he was there for the here and now.

"We should go back before they send out a search party," Tyrion said drolly getting awkwardly to his feet. "That is, if they haven't already."

"I doubt it," Jaime replied brushing the grass from his body.

"Our Lord father can't risk losing you," Tyrion grinned up at him. "Me, on the other hand, he'd happily lose."

Jaime smiled tightly and tried not to think about the slight truth to those words. His brother was a Lannister all the same though and so was still important to their family. However, Tyrion was right, as soon as they arrived back they were met with the angry glare of their father who told them that he was about to send out men to look for them. As they stood before their father, Jaime was aware of his dirty clothes and skin and the disapproving look on his father's face bore into him. Their father dismissed Tyrion first, telling him that his punishment was to be told to him later. Jaime didn't look as his brother left and he tried to steel himself as his father turned his attention back to him. Their father was a hard man to please and more often Jaime felt that he was letting him down.

"You are a Lannister, start acting like one. You have responsibilities and you shouldn't skirt your duties to go out playing like some silly little boy," his father scolded and Jaime fought hard not to lower his head in shame. "You could be great but you need to grow up."

After his father was done and dismissed him, Jaime was sent back to his room and was told to remain there until his father said otherwise. He wasn't surprise to find Cersei there, her face showing barely concealed annoyance. She was, of course, more irritated by the fact he had gone without her and taken Tyrion instead. He just listened to her snap at him before taking her into his arms and the young lioness calmed and purred against him. They could be together again since after their mother's death, Jaime had taken back his room next to hers. They were more careful and ever more curious and Jaime felt whole again once he was with her.

The odd thing was that with Cersei he felt complete, two halves making a whole and so that they didn't know where one began and the other ended. Without her he felt incomplete and severed. Except when he was with Tyrion. With Tyrion he felt singular, like he was just a brother on his own, not a half that had to be made up with another. He was simply Jaime with his brother and nothing more or less.

She stayed for a couple of hours but then had to leave before they found her with him and he instantly missed her as he sat in his room alone. Then, the little lion that was neither a boy nor fully a man, gazed at his reflection in his sword that he unsheathed and saw in face that of his sister's, the hints of his brother and father and possibly his mother who he could vaguely picture. He sighed and put his sword back, the weight of it suddenly great and it was then that he started to realise what it meant to be a Lannister. He was symbol for the greatest house and the little lion was going to have to practice his roar if everyone was to hear him.

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><p><strong>AN:** Reviews are love :)


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